Legal Events to Watch This Week

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stand on stage with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and wife, Ann Romney after the Oct. 22 in Boca Raton, Fla.

Voters will consider a raft of ballot measures when they head to the polls on Tuesday on issues including the death penalty, abortion, recreational pot use and same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court will hear arguments this week in cases that involve the Fifth Amendment’s Double Jeopardy Clause and certification in class actions.

• Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, accused of carrying out one of the worst atrocities of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, is scheduled to appear in a military courtroom in Washington state. In what’s known as an Article 32 hearing, military prosecutors will lay bare their case that he slaughtered 16 people during a predawn raid on two villages in the Taliban’s heartland. The hearing could run as long as two weeks.

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hear arguments over Arizona’s earliest-in the-nation ban of most abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Tuesday, Nov. 6

• The Supreme Court will hear arguments in Smith v. U.S. and Evans v. Michigan. In Smith, the court is asked to decide which party in a criminal conspiracy case bears the burden of proof that an alleged conspirator withdrew from a conspiracy outside of the statute of limitations. In Evans, the court will consider whether the Fifth Amendment’s Double Jeopardy Clause prohibits the retrial of a defendant acquitted based on a trial judge’s mistakenly adding an element to the offense.

• Election Day. In addition to submitting their pick in a clutch of close state Supreme Court races, voters in 38 states will face a total of 176 ballot measures, according to the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California. Let’s run though some of the highlights, as reported by the Atlantic and the Associated Press:

Same-sex marriage: Maine, Maryland and Washington could become the first states to legalize same-sex marriage through a popular vote.

Marijuana: Washington, Oregon and Colorado could become the first states to legalize recreational use of marijuana. Voters in Arkansas and Massachusetts will decide whether to allow marijuana use for medical reasons, as 17 states have already done.

Assisted suicide: Massachusetts voters will decide whether to legalize physician-assisted suicide. Oregon and Washington are currently the only states to allow terminally ill patients to obtain lethal doses of medication if doctors say they have six months or less to live.

Death Penalty: California voters will decide whether to abolish it. If the measure is approved, more than 720 inmates on California’s death row would have their sentences converted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. We looked at the issue in depth in this October story.

Abortion: Florida voters will decide on a measure that seeks to limit interpretation of the privacy rights contained in the state’s constitution. And voters in Montana will consider a measure on parental-notification rules.

• Former Penn State president Graham Spanier is scheduled to make a court appearance. He faces eight criminal counts related to the Jerry Sandusky child-sex-abuse scandal, including conspiracy, endangering the welfare of children and perjury. Mr. Spanier’s lawyers have called the charges baseless, saying Gov. Tom Corbett, a Penn State board member, is trying to deflect attention from his handling of the investigation when he was attorney general.

Thursday, Oct. 8

• Jared Lee Loughner, who pleaded guilty in the Tucson shooting rampage that left six people dead and former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others wounded, will be sentenced.

• In a “fairness hearing,” a judge will consider whether to give his final approval to proposed class-action settlement of claims spawned by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP estimates it will pay $7.8 billion to resolve claims from the 2010 disaster.

• Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to deliver remarks and take questions from students at University of Baltimore Law School about choosing a career in law.

About Law Blog

The Law Blog covers the legal arena’s hot cases, emerging trends and big personalities. It’s brought to you by lead writer Jacob Gershman with contributions from across The Wall Street Journal’s staff. Jacob comes here after more than half a decade covering the bare-knuckle politics of New York State. His inside-the-room reporting left him steeped in legal and regulatory issues that continue to grab headlines.

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